Senatorial SNAFU: Special Election Still Possible

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 24, 2010 5:40PM

Sure, Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk are duking it out for that Senate seat, but might another person take the seat before them, ousting Roland Burris early? That seems a possibility based on a recent decision by a federal judge. Garrett Epps takes a closer look at the 17th Amendment over at The Atlantic and explores how the Blago/Burris appointment fits into the scheme of things.

Both sides in the case have been instructed to report back to the judge next week with potential special election plans, but there may simply be too little time between now and November to have the election. Plus, it's still entirely possible that there could be two Senate votes on the November 2 ballot: the special vote for a Senator to serve the final weeks of Burris' (or, really, Obama's) term and the official election for the seat (the Giannoulias-Kirk vote).